Jaromar I

Who he is

Name

Jaromar I

Title

prince of Rügen

Since

1170 (sole prince by 1181)

Born

before 1141

Family

see Rügen

Confidence

medium

de.wikipedia Jaromar I., Fürstentum Rügen, Kloster Eldena (Vorpommern)

Overlord

Canute VI of Denmark

What it holds

• the island of Rügen, Hiddensee and Mönchgut (Mönchgut later given to Eldena)
• the Rugard castle and the nunnery church at Bergen
• Charenza (Garz)
• the land of Barth
• the Strelasund shore and the land of Gristow
• the Ryck mouth and Eldena's lands
• claims: Gützkow and Wusterhusen

How it was acquired

Hereditary; mainland lands from the 1180s-1190s.

Allies and rivals

Denmark; the Mecklenburg princes. Rivals: the Pomeranian dukes; Brandenburg.

How things stand that morning

Held as above on 1 January 1200, under Danish overlordship.

Wealth

Herring, the Strelasund crossing, the salt pans by the Ryck, dues of the Slav villages.

Military

The Rugard; Garz; Barth.

Threats

• the Pomeranian dukes
• Brandenburg

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 25 May 1200 (some sources 1201)Probably fights at Waschow with Duke Valdemar.Depends on: the Danish summons

Places of note

• Rugard: princely castle
• Charenza: the Rani's temple fortress, surrendered 1168, destroyed by the Pomeranians 1169
• Arkona: temple of Svantevit, destroyed 1168

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The island is certain; the mainland line along the Ryck and toward Grimmen is not pinned.

On the map: The mainland edge toward Grimmen and the Trebel is not pinned.

Primary sources for Rügen

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
• Chronicle of the Slavs, by Helmold of Bosau, Helmold of Bosau (about 1167 to 1172). Background only. Read online
• The Danish annals of Lund, Ryd and other houses (12th and 13th centuries; Lund continued to 1307, Ryd to 1288). Short dated entries from Lund, the archbishop's seat, and from Ryd in Schleswig. Read online
• Deeds of the Danes, Saxo Grammaticus (about 1185 to 1208). Saxo was writing at Lund in 1200 under Absalon, who died in March 1201, and his last books are an insider's history of Valdemar I and Knud VI to 1185: the Wendish wars, the taking of Rügen, the submission of Pomerania in 1185, the Danish fleet, Absalon's power and the Danish quarrel with the Empire. Read online
• Short history of the kings of Denmark; The Law of the Retainers, Sven Aggesen (about 1185 to 1188). A short Latin history of the Danish kings to Knud VI's Pomeranian victory of 1185, with the Lex castrensis, Sven's version of the law of the royal household. Read online
• The saga of the descendants of Knut (the kings of Denmark) (about 1250 to 1260). An Icelandic kings' saga of Denmark that draws on Saxo and Danish tradition and ends in 1187 with Knud VI and Absalon's Wendish wars. Read online
• Pomeranian charter book, volume 1, 786 to 1253 (documents of 786 to 1253, edited 1868). All known charters for Pomerania and Rügen to 1253. Read online
• The Danish diplomatarium: charters and letters concerning Denmark, with Danish translation (documents of 789 to 1448; the online edition is continuing). Twenty-seven documents are dated to 1200: Innocent III's letters of February and March 1200 to Philip Augustus and Queen Ingeborg and his order for the interdict on France, Otto IV's letter to the pope expecting King Knud VI to move into Saxony, the reports of the legate Octavian and the French bishops on the lifting of the interdict in September, the pope's letters to Knud VI asking him to send advocates for his sister, Knud VI's ordinance on manslaughter for Skåne of 28 December 1200, and private gifts to Roskilde and Næstved. Read online